Allianz SE Acquires New Position in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Allianz SE purchased a new position in Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 179,428 shares of the cable giant’s stock, valued at approximately $6,709,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Financial Counselors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Comcast by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 45,328 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $1,893,000 after buying an additional 1,354 shares in the last quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC boosted its stake in Comcast by 3.5% during the third quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 134,166 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $5,604,000 after acquiring an additional 4,586 shares in the last quarter. Encompass More Asset Management grew its holdings in Comcast by 5.0% in the third quarter. Encompass More Asset Management now owns 8,748 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $365,000 after purchasing an additional 414 shares during the period. ARGA Investment Management LP increased its stake in shares of Comcast by 45.7% during the third quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 260,458 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $10,879,000 after purchasing an additional 81,636 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Comcast by 1.1% during the third quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 140,357 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $6,181,000 after purchasing an additional 1,545 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

Comcast Trading Down 2.0 %

Comcast stock opened at $36.62 on Friday. Comcast Co. has a 52-week low of $32.50 and a 52-week high of $45.31. The company has a market cap of $138.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.99.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The cable giant reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.08. Comcast had a net margin of 13.09% and a return on equity of 19.98%. Analysts predict that Comcast Co. will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

Comcast Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be issued a $0.33 dividend. This is a boost from Comcast’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. Comcast’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CMCSA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Bank of America downgraded Comcast from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $50.00 to $38.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Rosenblatt Securities dropped their price target on shares of Comcast from $45.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Comcast from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Comcast from $42.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Comcast has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.64.

Comcast Company Profile

Comcast Corporation operates as a media and technology company worldwide. It operates through Residential Connectivity & Platforms, Business Services Connectivity, Media, Studios, and Theme Parks segments. The Residential Connectivity & Platforms segment provides residential broadband and wireless connectivity services, residential and business video services, sky-branded entertainment television networks, and advertising.